Knot tying



ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Marti/7 N. Noll/1 I B flfl v M. N. NOLING KNOT TYINGJum 17, 194-1.,

Filed Dec. 17, 1938 Patented June 17, 1941 KNo'r TYING Martin N. Noling,Rockford, 11 1., assignor to Barber-Colman Company, Rockford, ,1ll., a.cor- Duration ofIIllin'ois Application December 17, 1938', Serial No.246,337 GCIaiins. (erase-1) The invention pertains to knot tying and hasparticular reference to an improved method of tying knots as well as toan apparatus for carrying out such method.

The present invention finds particular utility as applied to theknotting of threads or yarns made of silk, rayon, celanese or otherregenerated cellulose derivatives. Such threads or yarns are hard andunyielding as compared, for example, to cotton, and as a consequenceit'is difiicult to tie knots in them in tyingin anew warp, for instance,which will not beshaken loose as the threads are pulled and jerked insubsequent movements through the reeds and harness of a loom. Thegeneral aim of the present invention is to overcome this difiicultybyproviding an improved method, as well as an ap-'- paratusfor carryingout thesame, for knotting threads or yarns which is capable of forming afirm hard knot in threads or yarns made 'of even such materials as silk,celane'se; rayon or other regenerated cellulose derivatives-.- Thisobject is, in general, accomplished by moistening the portions of threadwhich are included in the knot, preferably during the completion of theknot, so that when the knot dries the threads take on a permanent hardset in: their-- knotted form.v g

A.more specific object of the invention is to provide a knotter in whichtheknotted ends of the thread or yarn are moistened as an incident totheir movement in the knot tying operation so that a firm hard. knotresults which will readily withstand jerking and pulling such, forexamplaas thatwhichis encountered in a weaving operation.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a general perspective view of a warp tying machine,including a knotter embodying the present invention and adapted to carryout the improved method herein disclosed.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail front elevation of the knotter included inthe apparatus of Fig. 1 showing in particular the movement of theknotted thread ends across a moistening wick cable to the tying of othertypes of knots such, for example, as a weavers knot. Also, the inventionhas been shown and described herein as embodied in a knotter of a warpuniting machine of the general type shown in Peterson Patent 'No.2,011,115, but it is also applicable to hand knotters or knot tyingdevices included in other types of warp-uniting machines.

Inorder to make :clear the practice of the invention a particularapplication and embodiment thereof have been shown and described hereinin some' detail but there is no intention to thereby limit the inventiontosuch application and embodiment, but, on the other hand, the appendedclaimsare intended to cover all modifications and alternativeconstructions falling within the spiritand scope of the invention.

As was noted above the invention" has been sho'wnherein (-Fig. 1) asembodied in a knotter for a warp tying machine of the type disclosed insaid Peterson Patent No. 2,011,115. machine is designed in general toselect successive pairs of threads from an old warp A and a new warp B,to segregate the threads-from the respective warps to make up successivepairs, tie the successive pairs of threads together, and cut off anddispose of the waste end portions. For this purpose the machine isprovided with a selector mechanism (not shown) for segregatingsuccessive threads a and b from the respective warps A andB after whicha mechanism including a 'reciprocable slide l0 serVesto advance thesegregated threads to a" knotter, shown as including a rotating tyingbill II. The. successive selected. pairs of" threads are pushed togetherfor tying and positioned in operative relation with the tying bill II bymeans including a pair of guides designated generally by the numerals l2and I3, which are located on opposite sides of the bill. The guide I2 isof fork shape and the threads a -b are pushed into its narrowest throatportion to locate the same for tying by the bill H. The guide I3 is alsoof a generally forkshape but is provided with barbs I3 thereon whichprevent the threads from springing back out of the fork.

The particular form of knot tying mechanism shown herein is similar tothe one fully disclosed in Colman Patent No; 1,082,474 issued December23, 1913. In general, it includes a rotatable tying bill ll, rotated bymeans of a spiral gear l4 meshing with gear I5. This gear I5 is driven,

through suitable intermediate gearing, by a main drive gear I6 whichalso serves to reciprocate not only the slide I but also the stripperand waste end disposal mechanism.

Rotation of the tying bill I l causes it to engage the threads 11 and band entwine them into the form of a loose round knot. The knot, which isloosely formed by the tying bill I I, is pulled tight and stripped fromthe bill by a notched rotating stripper disk 11. The threads a --b areledged within a notch H in the stripper and it is retated in timedrelation with the movement of the tying bill II so that the threads arepulled down by the stripper between a pair of plates l8l8 (Fig, 2) tostrip them from the tying bill.

The warp threads are supported in the machine by suitable clamps l9-20on opposite sides of the knotter, only the clamps at the right hand sidebeing herein shown. At the completion of the tying operation the threadsare sheared at the tying bill and at a point adjacent the selectormechanism by a shear means (not shown) leaving waste ends for removal bymeans designated generally by the numeral 2|.

In accordance with the present invention the knotted ends of the threadsa b' are moistened and this moistening operation is preferably carriedout by moving them across a source of moisture as an incident to thestripping of the knot from the tying bill H. For this purpose a sheetmetal cup 22 (Fig. 2) is fixed to the upper side portion of the plate l8so that one end of a wick 23 disposed within the cup lies flush with thetop of the plate. The outer side wall of the cup is located below theupper edge of the plate l8. Consequently, when the stripper l'l pullsthe knotted threads over the edge of the plate 18 it also pulls themacross the exposed top of the wick 23 so that they are saturated withmoisture from the wick. The wick 23 itself is kept moist by immersingone end thereof in a reservoir 24 filled with water (Fig.3). After thethreads leave the knotter they become dry in a short time by theirexposure to air and the previously wetted knot takes on a hard permanentset. Consequently, the ends of the threads will not be pulled apart bythe jerking and pulling of the reeds and harness in the loom duringsubsequent weaving operations even though the threads be made of suchhard unyielding materials as silk,

jacent said tying bill, a stripper movable along the face of said plateopposite said tying bill past said edge thereof and engageable with thethreads to pull the same from said tying bill and across said plateedge, means including a wick located adjacent said plate edge forwetting the knotted portion of the threads as it is pulled acrossthesame by said stripper, and means for supplying liquid to said wick.

2. In a knot-tying mechanism, the combination of, means including arotatable tying bill for celanese, rayon or other regenerated celluloseknotting the ends of a pair of threads, a stripper for pulling theknotted threads from said tyin bill, and means for moistening theknotted portion of the threads during their movement by said stripper.

3. A knotter of the type embodying a rotating tying bill for knottingtwo portions of thread or the like, characterized by the provision ofmeans for moistening such'portions of thread as an incident to theirmovement during the knot tying operation. I I

I 4. In a knot-tying mechanism the combination of means including arotatable tying bill for knotting the ends of a pair of threads, a pairof spaced plates presentingedge portions thereof to the threads adjacentsaid tying bill, a stripper movable between said plates past the edgeportions thereof and engageable with thethreads to pull the same fromsaid tying bill and into the space between said plates across saidedges-thereof, a liquid reservoir, a wick projecting from saidreservoir, and means including a cup located adjacent one of said plateedges for supporting a portion of said wick to wet the knotted portionof the threads as it is pulled across the same by said stripper. V

5. The method of knotting threads prior to their utilization in atextile weaving operation or thealike, which comprises, intertwining inthe form of a loose knotportions of a pair of threads to be united,exerting a pulling force on the threads-to draw the knot tight; and, asan incident to the movement resulting from such pulling, moving thethreads across a source of moisture to wetthe same.

,6. The method of uniting the ends of a pair of threads securelytogether so as to prevent their disjoinder due' to subsequent pulling orjerking, which comprises, the knotting of a pair of threads andmoistening of the portions of the threads which make up the knot, andthen permitting the same to dry after the knot has been pulled hard andtight.

. g MARTIN N. NOLING.

